As used herein, positional terms such as "front", "top", etc. refer to a weapon held in the normal fining position with the bore of the weapon held in a generally horizontal position. Under this convention, "front" points in the direction of firing.
A switchable single-shot device is often provided in fully automatic self-loading weapons, especially in small arms, but also in machine guns, etc. The single-shot device is designed to permit release of only a single round after it is engaged. A shot selector is provided which makes it possible for the shooter to operate the weapon in either the single-shot or the sustained firing mode.
The single-shot mechanism is generally controlled by a functional part of the weapon, but can also include an independent control mechanism such as a delay mechanism. This type of delay mechanism ensures that, after release of a round, the connection between the trigger, (which is still pulled back), and a locking device is interrupted immediately after the round is released. This interruption permits the locking device to hold back the hammer or the firing pin piece (in the case of a weapon which has a closed breech in the ready to fire condition (e.g., the M16 rifle)) or the breech (in the case of a weapon which has an open breech in the ready to fire condition (e.g., the M3 submachine gun commonly referred to as the "grease gun")) in order to prevent release of a second round.
Whereas it is possible in sustained fire to cover terrain sections and force the opponent to take cover, single shots are prescribed for precise individual firing. However, it has turned out that the chances of hitting a single target are improved if the target is brought under sustained fire. However, only the first rounds of a burst are typically on target. The subsequent rounds, on the other hand, are more or less far from the target because the weapon migrates as a result of recoil and, under some circumstances, can pose a threat to persons who are situated close to the firing line. Moreover, excessive, ultimately unsuccessfully released rounds are undesirable because they reduce the cartridge supply of the shooter.
It is certainly possible for a trained shooter to release any desired short bursts of rounds (e.g., only two or three rounds) without difficulty. However, when the shooter concentrates on limiting the shots to such a small number during firing, the amount of attention directed toward the actual target is reduced. Moreover, weapons generally should be designed so that even less trained persons can handle them perfectly.
To remedy this problem the applicant has developed, among other things, devices that are capable of releasing extremely precise single shots and are additionally equipped with a three-shot mechanism that can be selected by a shot selection lever to ensure that a burst of precisely three rounds is released during activation of the trigger. However, this three-shot mechanism is relatively complicated.
The applicant has developed a trigger device which, like the trigger device of the G3 weapon, has a longitudinally shiftable and pivotable trigger lever located on the top of the trigger. The trigger lever causes the interruption process in single-shot use. If the trigger is released and the front tip of the trigger lever has fallen into the corresponding locking recess of the hammer, which is therefore secured, then the hammer forces the trigger lever down so that it is situated with its rear end above a protrusion of the trigger. The protrusion in turn is situated behind the pivot point of the trigger.
If the trigger is now pulled rearwardly by the shooter, the protrusion is moved upward, which in turn engages beneath the rear end of the trigger lever and pivots the front end of the trigger lever downward and out of engagement with the locking recess of the hammer. The hammer backs off and at the same time the trigger lever is pushed forward so that it slides with its rear end forward from the protrusion and assumes its original pivot position in which it can again engage in the hammer lock recess.
The hammer now forces the trigger lever rearward again, but the rear end of the trigger lever is situated on the front side of the protrusion of the trigger, which is still pulled back.
If the trigger is now released, the protrusion moves downward beneath the trigger lever. The trigger lever is, thus, released and forced rearward by the hammer. The initial position before release of the shot is, therefore, reproduced.
However, whereas the trigger must be pulled back again in the G3 weapon in sustained firing as during single firing in order to pivot the front end of the trigger lever downward so that it cannot fall into the locking protrusion when it is released from the protrusion of the trigger, in the trigger device of the applicant the trigger assumes the same pivot position during sustained firing as during single firing. Instead of pivoting the trigger lever out from engagement with the hammer, it is prevented by a slide from sliding in front of the protrusion of the trigger. The slide therefore forms part of the shot selection device in the applicant's device.